INCORPORATING a lifetime of experience in diagnosing and resolving problems with sticking and sluggish keys.

Pianos for sale:

PIANOS FOR SALE - I am now closing out my Antique Steinway Piano, Pianoforte and Fortepiano collection of considerable historic interest. I have only small number of pianos left in my collection, and I can give interested buyers, very good deals on these!

Here is a very special piano made in the very early days of Cincinnati Piano History. This piano is actually a type of Viennese Fortepiano, although it was made right here in Cincinnati! It is an incredibly elegant and richly ornamented 1830s American Empire Mahogany and Rosewood square fortepiano, similar in basic design to some of those made by the master builder Andre Stein of Vienna. This piano was made by Andrew (originally Andreas) Reuss, a native of Bad Kissingen, Germany who was a piano maker in Vienna prior to coming to America. His shop was located on Walnut Street in the old Cincinnati, while it was still just a little pioneer town.

The features on this piano are quite extraordinary, including a large ornate pedal lyre with four pedals, one of which operates a drum mechanism set up inside the piano! The piano has the classic Viennese-style action with the pivot point being placed to the rear of the hammer, alowing for a light touch with extremely rapid repititon. Historic pianos with the Viennese action are highly sought out for the performance of period authentic classical music.

The tuning pins are positioned at the front rather than the rear which gives it a considerable advantage in ease of tuning over the typical English and American square pianos. Although the key compass is a full six octaves FF-f4 there are no externally visible metal structural bracings, so the piano appears to be a late example of an all wood frame fortepiano.

The Smithsonian Institution listed a very similar (or possibly the same?) piano in their inventory for 1915 with the following description:

A. Reuss, Cincinnati, Ohio, square, about 1832 ; one of the most picturesque types of instruments of the larger form.Reuss announced himself as a piano maker from Vienna.

This fine Viennese style fortepiano is no longer available, however:

The new owner of the Reuss fortepiano, Mr. Thomas Strange, of http://www.squarepianotech.com/has recently conducted research on the life of Andrew Reuss and his unique position in the early history of Cincinnati "piano-forte macher" craft, his excellent report can be viewed at this link:

Besides the Cincinnati Fortepiano by Andre Reuss, there was once a Viennese Fortepiano by Andre Stein of Vienna at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. This fine fortepiano was for a time a part of my collection :